A fee for GP visits would not apply to concession card holders and children under an Australian Medical Association proposal to the Abbott government.
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Federal health minister Peter Dutton has responded to the AMA proposal, however, saying it would deliver "a windfall to doctors by wiping out 97 per cent of the government's estimated savings".
Under the AMA proposal, released on Thursday, doctors would charge a $6.15 fee to most patients, but would not be obliged to charge the fee for Medicare-funded chronic disease services, health assessments, mental health treatment items, or home or residential aged care visits.
According to the government's proposal, announced in the May budget, all patients would pay a $7 fee, but concession card holders and children would be bulk-billed after paying the fee 10 times in a year.
The doctor's association has suggested that to encourage doctors to charge patients the fee in circumstances in which they should, they will receive a lower rebate from Medicare when not charging the fee.
The AMA has told the government it will not accept a proposed $5 cut to Medicare rebates, which is designed to encourage doctors to charge patients the $7 fee.
In the AMA's proposal the fees paid by patients would count in determining their eligibility for relief under the Medicare safety net, unlike in the government's proposal.
Speaking at a Committee for Economic Development of Australia lunch in Melbourne, Mr Dutton said he believed most Australians supported a modest GP fee, which was needed to ensure the sustainability of the healthcare system into the future.
"I thank the AMA for their honesty in publicly and privately supporting a copayment in principle," he said.
Mr Dutton said the government would continue to press its case with crossbench MPs but declined to say where there could be room for negotiation.
"Among senators there is a desire, like there is in the government, to see Medicare strenthened and sustained for another generation," he said.
"There's a lot of goodwill around, I want to do the right thing by doctors ... patients and taxpayers. We have to get the balance right for who's paying for services."
Speaking to reporters in Melbourne on Thursday before the AMA announcement, Prime Minister Tony Abbott reaffirmed the government's commitment to introducing a $7 fee.
But the government currently lacks sufficient support to get its proposals through the Senate, with Labor, the Greens and Palmer United Party strongly opposed.
Speaking to reporters in Melbourne, Mr Shorten said Labor did not support the AMA proposal.
"Labor's position has not and will not change. We will not support Tony Abbott's unfair GP tax. Whatever Tony Abbott wants to call it, whatever way he tries to cut it, Labor will not support the GP tax in any form," he said.
